Last Updated on July 22, 2024 by Kittredge Cherry
Colors of the LGBTQ rainbow flag reveal the many faces of the queer Christ in the following Rainbow Christ Prayer by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry and gay theologian Patrick S. Cheng. The Rainbow Christ Prayer honors the spiritual values of the LGBTQ movement. Rainbows are also an important symbol in Christianity and many other religious traditions.
The prayer matches the colors of the rainbow flag with the seven models of the queer Christ from Patrick Cheng’s book “From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ.”
Update in June 2024: Three new languages are added for Pride Month: Icelandic, Persian and Welsh. Languages added earlier in 2024 are Latin and Romanian.
The prayer is available in 29 languages: the original English, plus Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Dholuo, Dutch, Estonian, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lakota, Latin, Latvian, Malay, Polari, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Tagalog and Ukrainian. More translations are welcome.
War turns out to be the motivation for some of the translations. Hebrew and Arabic translations were posted simultaneously in late 2023 to show support for LGBTQ people affected by violence in Israel and Gaza. The Ukrainian version came after the Russian invasion in 2022. “Human nature makes people wait until war breaks out before the need for communication and translation becomes urgent. But I choose to see the war-time translations as an act of redemption, compassion and deep humanity,” Cherry said. She makes an effort to post simultaneous translations for both sides of any war.
Rainbow Christ Prayer: Full version
Let us pray…
Rainbow Christ, you embody all the colors of the world. Rainbows serve as bridges between different realms: heaven and earth, east and west, queer and non-queer. Inspire us to remember the values expressed in the rainbow flag of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.
Rainbow colors come together to make one light, the crown of universal consciousness. Hybrid and All-Encompassing Christ, you are our Crown, both human and divine. Free us from rigid categories and grant us the grace of interwoven identities. With the rainbow, lead us beyond black-and-white thinking to experience the whole spectrum of life.
Rainbow Christ, you light up the world. You make rainbows as a promise to support all life on earth. In the rainbow space, we can see all the hidden connections between sexualities, genders and races. Like the rainbow, may we embody all the colors of the world! Amen.
Rainbow Christ Prayer: Short version
Rainbow Christ, you embody all the colors of the world. Inspire us to celebrate each color of the rainbow!
Red gives us life. Self-Loving Christ, you are our Root.
Orange stirs our passion. Erotic Christ, you are our Fire.
Yellow awakens our courage. Out Christ, you are our Core.
Green moves us to love. Transgressive Christ, you are our Heart.
Blue frees us to speak. Liberator Christ, you are our Voice.
Violet clears our vision. Interconnected Christ, you are our Wisdom.
The colors of the rainbow are distinct, but they all shine together to make one light. Hybrid Christ, you are our Crown.
Rainbow Christ, you are the light of the world. May the rainbow lead us to experience the whole spectrum of life! Amen.
Optional extra lines:
Brown embodies diversity. Human Christ you were one of us.
Black invites us into mystery. Mystical Christ you are our rebirth.
New in 2024: Rainbow Christ art
The Rainbow Christ takes visual form in an artwork created in 2024 by California artist Michael Donnoe with help from AI. He is also making the image available for free download in high-resolution, printable size.
“Rainbow Christ” by Michael Donnoe
The painterly image has a mystical yet welcoming vibe. Donnoe is a part-time visual artist who integrates Buddhist and Christian practices, and is active in his home parish of Trinity Episcopal Church in Folsom, California.
New in 2024: The rainbow Christ shines in a window hanging. It is available from the StellaGiftsAustralia shop on Etsy.
New stripes inspire new prayers as the rainbow flag evolves
New prayers honor the new stripes that were added to the rainbow flag in recent years to highlight people of color and transgender, nonbinary and intersex people. The black and brown stripes are honored in supplemental stanzas for the Rainbow Christ Prayer by Kittredge Cherry and Erica Lea-Simka. A version by Shane St Reynold features all the colors of the intersex-inclusive Progress Pride flag.
Cherry and Cheng have not collaborated on additional prayers because they go beyond the original concept based on the models of Christ in Cheng’s book, but they welcome others to write extra prayers.
Black and brown stripes were added to create the Philadelphia Rainbow Flag
Two different sets of prayers based on the black and brown stripes were written in 2023 by Cherry and Erica Lea-Simka, pastor of Albuquerque Mennonite Church in New Mexico. T The city of Philadelphia called attention to people of color in the LGBTQ community by putting black and brown stripes on top of the rainbow flag in 2017. They wrote the following prayers separately in consultation with each other.
Here are the new prayers by Cherry:
Lea-Simka worked with Mennonite Women USA to have various women make video recordings of each stanza for Pride Month 2023. Their “Pride Prayer” set of 12 short videos is available on Instagram.
Prayers based on new stripes in the rainbow flag are included in screenshots from the 2023 Pride Prayer video by Mennonite Women USA.
Here are the new prayers by Lea-Simka:
Intersex and trans-inclusive Progress Pride Flag
The rainbow flag continues to evolve as people add more colors. The black and brown stripes were integrated into a chevron shape with pink, baby blue and white stripes to represent transgender and nonbinary people. Known as the Progress Pride flag, it was designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018 and quickly became popular on social media. The arrow points to the right to show forward progress. He also gave an additional meaning to the black stripe as a symbol of people living with or lost to HIV/AIDS. An intersex-inclusive redesign by Valentino Vecchietti in 2021 added a purple circle within a yellow triangle.
Shane St Reynolds, pastor of Universal Church Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, wrote the following additional lines in a 2023 revised version of the prayer. It is based on a 2021 intersex-inclusive redesign of the Progress Pride Flag with black and brown stripes to highlight LGBTQ people of color, plus pink, baby blue and white stripes for transgender people:
Black and brown stripes represent people of colour. Free us from discrimination and grant us the grace of love and acceptance.
The light blue, pink, and white stripes represent transgender and non-binary people. Empower us to be our authentic selves.
The circle represents intersex individuals. Advocate for their full inclusion within our community.
Heart-shaped rainbow Progress Pride flag with cross
How people use the Rainbow Christ Prayer
The Rainbow Christ Prayer grows out of the understanding that LGBTQ people are a natural part of God’s creation. Progressive Christians believe that homosexuality is not a sin. Scholars say that the Bible does not condemn loving same-sex relationships. Therefore churches should accept and affirm LGBTQ people.
In honor of the Stonewall Uprising, progressive churches often celebrate the last Sunday in June as Pride Sunday. It is called the Feast of the Rainbow Christ by some, including Seattle’s Inclusive Catholic communities of Living Water and Holy Questions. Their 2024 Mass for the Feast of Rainbow Christ included the prayer along with a confetti cannon, cupcakes and two queer priests celebrating.
People have adapted the prayer for a wide variety of settings, including Pride services at churches and chapels in Arizona; Brisbane, Australia; and Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand; and among Unitarians in the United Kingdom: at the 2024 LGBTQ+ Creating Change conference in New Orleans. a 2022 worship service at the Mennonite national gathering in Edmonton, Canada; a 2022 worship service hosted by the Queer Theology Academy in Hong Kong; queer theology class in Dallas, Texas; a non-violence training in Pennsylvania; a poetry reading in Los Angeles; an online Zoom event sponsored by the Sacred Swarm; a 2022 blessing of a rainbow flag for a Puyallup United Methodist Church in Washington state; and a workshop on queering worship at the 2021 United Church of Christ General Synod.
It has been used as a blessing at Shabbat dinners, a meditation at yoga classes, and a wedding gift at a same-sex marriage. In 2023 it was the basis of a sermon series at by pastor Ken Arthur at Phoenix Community Church UCC in Kalamazoo, Michigan; and a eucharistic prayer at Living Water Inclusive Catholic Community in Seattle, Washington. In 2024 aChurch4me MCC in Chicago matched the six colors of the prayer with the six weeks of Lent for their “Queering Lent” series. It has also been denounced as blasphemy by conservative extremists.
Queer Theology Academy (性神學社) in Hong Kong used the Rainbow Christ Prayer at the opening worship service for a 2022 workshop / webinar.
It was part of the 2020 Pride Day Service organized online by Iglesia Antigua de las Américas, a denomination in México, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Argentina. They are the first denomination to institute Pride Day as an official denominational festivity in South America. The prayer is discussed in the 2023 book “Faith and Sexuality: Reconciling LGBT+ People and Christianity” by Australian pastor Shane St. Reynolds.
“La Bandera” (The Flag) by gay Mexican artist Felix d’Eon shows a rainbow flag and a bow with the colors of the transgender flag. Prints are available at his Etsy shop.
In her article “Jesus’ Baptism Reveals a Rainbow Christ,” lesbian nun Diane Rapozo writes about how she prays the Rainbow Christ Prayer every day for her LGBTQ+ community.
Small needlepoint rainbow crosses were handed out with a short version of the Rainbow Christ Prayer in 2013 when Salem United Church of Christ in Columbia, Pennsylvania, hosted a training for the Silent Witness Peacekeepers Alliance. The Alliance helped the LGBT community have safe, peaceful gatherings by providing a non-confrontational buffer between protestors at Pride festivals and other events. A member of the Salem church stitched the rainbow crosses specifically to go with the Rainbow Christ Prayer for volunteers at the training.
The mini prayer cards, measuring only two inches high, adapts the prayer with new opening lines: “Rainbow Christ; You embody all the colors of the world. Rainbows stretch in order to connect diverse realms: Inspire us to stretch beyond boundaries so that we may embody the wonders born from the diversity which You created.”
Origins of the Rainbow Christ Prayer
I got the idea for the Rainbow Christ Prayer as I reflected on Patrick Cheng’s models of the queer Christ. Patrick and I each spent years developing the ideas expressed in the Rainbow Christ Prayer. It incorporates rainbow symbolism from queer culture, from Christian tradition and from the Buddhist/Hindu concept of chakras, the seven colored energy centers of the human body. The prayer is ideal for use when lighting candles in a rainbow candle holder.
I worked with Patrick to write the Rainbow Christ Prayer in 2012, and it is still one of the proudest moments of my life.
The Rainbow Christ Prayer has been welcomed and used by many progressive Christian communities and denounced as blasphemy by conservatives at Americans for Truth About Homosexuality.)
I first wrote about linking the colors of the rainbow flag to queer spirituality in my 2009 reflection on Bridge of Light, a winter holiday honoring LGBT culture. Meanwhile Patrick was working on his models of the queer Christ based on LGBT experience. In 2010 he presented five models of the queer Christ in his essay “Rethinking Sin and Grace for LGBT People” at the Jesus in Love Blog (and as a chapter in the book “Sexuality and the Sacred: Sources for Theological Reflection
In a moment of inspiration I realized that Patrick’s various queer Christ models matched the colors of the rainbow flag. Patrick and I joined forces and the Rainbow Christ Prayer was born.
With wonderful synchronicity, Patrick had already added two more queer Christ models, so he now had seven models to match the seven principles from Bridge of Light. He wrote a detailed explanation of all seven models in his book “From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ,” published in spring 2012 by Seabury Books. The following year Patrick authored “Rainbow Theology: Bridging Race, Sexuality, and Spirit.”
For more on the history and meaning of the rainbow flag, see my Huffington Post article Rainbow Christ Prayer honors LGBT spirituality.
Gay spirituality author Joe Perez helped lay the groundwork for this prayer in 2004 when he founded the interfaith and omni-denominational winter ritual known as Bridge of Light. People celebrate Bridge of Light by lighting candles, one for every color of the rainbow flag. Each color corresponds to a universal spiritual principle that is expressed in LGBT history and culture. I worked with Joe to revise the Bridge of Light guidelines based on my on own meditations on the chakras and their connections to the colors of the rainbow flag.
The symbolism of the rainbow resonates far beyond the LGBT flag. Rainbows show the full spectrum of light. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the rainbow stands for God’s promise to support all life on earth. It plays an important role in the story of Noah’s Ark. After the flood, God places a rainbow in the sky, saying, “Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” (Genesis 9:15-16). In the Book of Revelation, a rainbow encircles the throne of Christ in heaven.
Prayer inspires Rainbow Christ icon
The Rainbow Christ Prayer inspired an icon in 2022: “Rainbow Christ-Sophia the Liberator” by Jeremy Whitner. The dark-skinned Jesus has a rainbow halo. His eyes stand out and seem to follow the viewer even in small thumbnail versions. Every color speaks volumes — the bright red background of the Holy Spirit, the purple robe for the LGBTQ community and also for Christ’s Passion, and of course, his dark skin, which is historically accurate and emphasizes his solidarity with people of color.
“Rainbow Christ-Sophia the Liberator” by Jeremy Whitner. Prints are available at Fine Art America.
His identity is affirmed by the letters “IC XC,” a traditional abbreviation of the Greek words for “Jesus Christ.” His hand gesture of blessing is also time-honored way for artists to identify Christ. Whitner often bestows rainbow halos of various shapes upon queer saints. This halo is perfectly symmetrical, hinting at Christ’s divinity. The inclusion of “Sophia” in the title indicates that this Christ figure is the embodiment of Holy Wisdom, often considered a female incarnation of God. The liturgical color red is worn on Pentecost to commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit.
So many people asked to buy the Rainbow Christ-Sophia that Whitner set up a new shop at Fine Art America in February 2022. It offers prints of the Rainbow Christ-Sophia along with many other queer saints and subjects from nature, religion and LGBTQ culture. Whitner is a queer Christian iconographer in process for ministry with the Disciples of Christ. He attends Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Ukrainians and Russians join in Rainbow Christ Prayer
A Ukrainian translation of the Rainbow Christ Prayer was posted in March 2022 at Q Spirit: Молитва до веселкового Христа. “I was surprised and touched to hear that LGBTQ Russians and Ukrainians were praying our Rainbow Christ Prayer together with others on the eve of war,” Cherry said. “I felt inspired to reach out to friends about the need for a Rainbow Christ icon and a Ukrainian translation — and now I am happy to share the results.”
Just two days before Russia invaded Ukraine, LGBTQ people of faith from those countries and around the world united to pray the Rainbow Christ Prayer at the Forum of Eastern European and Central Asian LGBT Christian Groups on Feb. 22, 2022. “What unites us is that we all wish peace and ask responsible leaders to stop the war right now. We can only pray to God,” they wrote on Facebook.
The group prayed it together in Russian and English. “After the invasion, it didn’t seem right anymore that Ukrainians had to use Russian or English. I wanted Ukrainians to be able to pray the Rainbow Christ Prayer in their own language,” Cherry said. “I reached out to friends who were happy to help. We all wanted to do something for Ukrainian people during this terrible time.”
She studied Russian language in high school and college, and dreamed of visiting there. “This part of the world always has a special place in my heart,” Cherry said. “I am especially impressed by the bravery of the LGBTQ faith communities there in the face of legalized discrimination.” She invites others to join her in praying:
Rainbow Christ, source of peace, we pray for peace between Russia and Ukraine!
Ukrainian: Веселковий Христосе, джерело миру, молимось за мир між Росією та Україною!
Russian: Радужный Христос, источник мира, мы молимся о мире между Россией и Украиной!
Videos of the Rainbow Christ Prayer
A young pastor discusses and reads the Rainbow Christ Prayer in a new seven-minute video. It was created by Erica Lea-Simka for the Day of Prayer at Young Clergywomen International in 2017.
“I share this prayer as a way of claiming and reminding myself and reminding perhaps many of you that God’s kingdom and kindom is far more diverse and beautiful than we can even imagine,” she says on the video.
Lea-Simka identifies as a gay “Episco-Bapt-onite” — Episcopal, Baptist and Mennonite. She currently serves as pastor of Albuquerque Mennonite Church in New Mexico.
Universal Church Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, made a video with the Rainbow Christ prayer in 2023, read it at their worship service, and posted the full text online in preparation for the Gold Coast Pride Festival in 2022.
Book explores spirituality of rainbow flag
LGBTQ Christians reflect on each color of the Pride flag in the 2022 book “Colors of Hope: A Devotional Journal from LGBTQIA+ Christians” by Melissa Guthrie (editor). Diverse contributors explore themes of life, sexuality, healing, nature, art, harmony, sunlight and spirit in nine essays. They come from a spectrum of ministries, including Black and Latinx. The devotional journal also includes an introduction, benediction and resource list. The rainbow flag glows with deeper meaning once it is used as a foundation for spiritual growth. This inspiring book shines as bright as any rainbow. The editor is an ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and executive director of Disciples Alliance Q, their LGBTQ+ advocacy ministry. Published by Chalice Press, the official publishing house for the Disciples of Christ. Let the rainbow flag refresh your spirit with “Colors of Hope.”
Links related to the Rainbow Christ Prayer
Rainbow Christ Prayer translated into many languages
Rainbow Christ Prayer goes nationwide at churches, schools and events (2014)
Rethinking Sin and Grace for LGBT People by Patrick Cheng (Jesus in Love)
How the Pride Flag Speaks to the Promises of God by Ryan Duncan (Sojourners)
Detail from “Christ and the Two Marys” by William Holman Hunt (Wikimedia Commons)
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Image credit: “Stained-glass Rainbow Flag with Cross (Baner enfys gwydr lliw gyda Chroes)” by Andrew Craig Williams
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This post is part of the LGBTQ Calendar series by Kittredge Cherry. The series celebrates religious and spiritual holidays, events in LGBTQ history, holy days, feast days, festivals, anniversaries, liturgical seasons and other occasions of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people of faith and our allies.
This article was first published on Q Spirit in June 2017, was expanded with new material over time, and was most recently updated on July 22, 2024.
Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
Qspirit.net presents the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBTQ spirituality.
This only reinforces subliminally that the rainbow represents “the diversity of humans” and not the diversity of light. It doesn’t matter that the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag has only six rays while the rainbow of God has seven (I memorized them as “Roy G. Biv”– red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet); six is the number of man, while seven is the number of spiritual perfection. The rainbow is HOLY because it belongs to God. Genesis 9:13-15: “I set MY bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth… and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.” To change the meaning to “diversity of humans” is to violate the holiness of the rainbow.
I am curious, are you saying that the Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ did not create holiness in humanity, by stating that making the rainbow about humanity destroys the holiness of the rainbow. God gave the rainbow to humanity as God’s promise of his never destroying the earth again. To me, because of that, the rainbow belongs to God, humanity, and all of God’s creation.
I am not lgbt but if I could cliff note the new colors I would do so like this
Brown the color for diversity, Human Christ you were one of us.
Black the color of mystery. Mystical Christ you are our rebirth.
Thank you! I liked your suggestions so much that they inspired me to create my own one-line prayers for brown and black. I added them into the main body of the article. May the Rainbow Christ be with you!
I love that this prayer is happening and catching on! a beam of light into the shadows of hate and arrogant religious beliefs held by many who can’t seem to understand the the truth message of Christ, LOVE and diversity.
You’re obviously doing something right when you’re denounced by Americans for Truth About Homosexuality!!
I am imagining this poem as a dramatic reading/ liturgical dance/ribbon/movement piece for a Pride Sunday service … especially if there were verses added for Brown, Black and perhaps lavender stripes. (Before he passed, Gilbert Baker added lavender to represent ‘diversity’.) Last year there was a movement to add Brown and Black to, as I perceive and claim it, as solidarity with people of color, particularly immigrants and African-Americans.
I’m so glad to discover this prayer and this article! (And I’ve got to get that book!)